Dr. Kurt Patberg was named CUNYAC Commissioner in January, 2025.
A 40-plus year veteran of intercollegiate athletics administration, Patberg has extensive experience leading athletic conferences.
As Commissioner, Patberg will provide overall conference leadership, oversight and guidance and will serve as the primary contact for the NCAA and CUNYAC institutions. He will provide budgetary oversight, initiate corporate sponsorships and member recruitment, and lead branding efforts as the conference aims to continue to provide quality championship opportunities and student-athletes' experiences. Patberg will work in partnership with the CUNYAC member campuses to advance the conference’s strategy and vision.
Most recently, Patberg served as acting commissioner of the Collegiate Conference of the South – a newly created NCAA Division III conference. Previously, Patberg served as commissioner of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, a pair of Division II conferences, and was also commissioner of the NAIA’s Southern States Athletic Conference.
Patberg is also Vice President of Mammoth Sports Consulting and has consulted on many different topics and areas of collegiate athletics including conference affiliation and expansion to NCAA and NAIA transitions, to strategic planning, departmental reviews, etc. Additionally, as a leading search consultant for small colleges, he has conducted over 550 searches over the past 12-plus years.
Patberg joins CUNYAC as part of an agreement with Mammoth Sports Consulting to manage the conference for a period of three years. Under this management agreement CUNYAC will continue to provide a first-class championship experience for its student-athletes in 18 NCAA Division III sports, and aims to better align the conference’s operations, policies and procedures with its Division III peers.